County Administrator releases proposed budget changes

WAUSAU – Homeowners would see a rise in their tax bill under Marathon County Administrator Brad Karger‘s recommended 2015 budget.

Average homeowners with a house worth about $136,000 could see an increase of about $12 in their tax bill from 2014 to 2015 under the proposal released Tuesday.

Karger called 2015 “a year of new and expanded positions.” Six new positions include two new corrections officers for the Sheriff’s Department. Six lesser-paid positions were upgraded from “casual” to “permanent,” in part to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act and to be fair, Karger wrote.

“You can’t be in a temporary position for more than a year or it’s not temporary,” he said.

The budget proposal adds $396,952 for payroll costs. One of the new positions is funded with Capital Improvement Dollars, another with grant funding.

There’s also money in departmental budgets for a 2 percent raise for county employees in good standing next spring.

To help support an expansion of the chief deputy medical examiner to full time, the budget calls for an increase in cremation permitting fees from $75 to $250.

The budget also sets aside about $336,000 for jail inmates that have to be sent out of the county for lack of space here. County officials may continue discussing a jail expansion, but Karger said renting space in Lincoln and Shawano County jails is more cost effective for 2015.

Karger’s full budget message will be available online Wednesday.

The final county budget and tax levy will be voted on when the County Board meets in November.

Nora G. Hertel can be reached at 715-845-0665. Find her on Twitter as @nghertel.